Collaboration, Information and Decision-making are corner-stones for any Manufacturing Industry to respond to challenges. Profitability is always under threat in a challenging situation. Decisions made by team based on input information, in a timely manner, help mitigate customer issues and meet aggressive schedules.

Role of PDM/ PLM in an Organization

Challenges Faced by Indian Industry

Bringing Innovative Products to Market Faster

Input Cost Pressure & Profitability Threats

Quality Issues & Timely Resolution

Product Reliability

REAL LIFE SITUATION

Every Quarter, Statutory Audit is undertaken in many companies, as a part of Compliance Verification and Remedial Measures. It is a known fact that Teams are mobilized to meet Audit ‘Requirements.’ This results in loss of productivity and missing of timelines on planned activity, with direct bearing on aforesaid Challenges. Why should Teams spend unproductive hours creating/ updating records of activities if the same could have been done as a part of an automated process? This activity is typically performed post facto as a part of fulfilment process and not necessarily compliance. In changing business dynamics, every day compliance is a necessity to meet stated Challenges.

Critical Priorities of Indian Industries

Protection of Intellectual Property

Creation & Management of Knowledge

Automation of Workflow & Paperless Manufacturing

Manage Customer Requirement

Manage Product Documents

Control Document Versions & Revisions

Unification of Project Data

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MEASURABLE METRICS
In order to assure profitability, every activity in an organization should be driven by THREE DRIVERS – Cost, Time & Quality. Continuous Process Improvement should be measured on these THREE DRIVERS. For this to happen, DATA needs to be there in re-usable form for interpretation and improvement.

PDM/ PLM Requirements Checklist

Any successful deployment and usage of a PDM/PLM is dependent on four parameters, namely,.

Capability of the PDM/PLM Framework

Implementation Vision & Roadmap

Ease of Use, Adaptability & Adoptability

Experience of the Implementation Partner

Numerous implementations have faced challenges on account of one or more of the above factors.

Following checklist, drawn out of experience, can help arrive at decision on choice of PDM/PLM and an Implementation Partner. Due diligence on this checklist, a priori, is bound to help achieve a pleasant and successful implementation experience.

S.no

Functional Requirement

Required?

1

Data Security

2

Workflow Automation

3

Automatic Notification

4

Engineering Change Management

5

Document Revision/ Version Management

6

Data Re-Use

7

Project Management Integration

8

Enquiry Management Integration

9

Bill-of-Materials Management

10

ERP/MRP Integration

11

Statutory / Standards Compliance

12

Rights Management

Clear understanding of Current Status and Processes are essential before implementation is initiated. Implementation partner needs to be engaged on the Requirements and detailed Scope Document preparation from the beginning since buy-in on the proposed system is vital for success.

PDM/ PLM Software Selection Criteria

In order to satisfy functional requirements of the organization, PDM/ PLM Software are deployed using

Out-of-the-Box capabilities (standard functions)

Configurable settings

Customizable functions.

While Out-of-the-box capabilities and configurable settings are easier to deploy, customizable functions require sophisticated programming. This is done by accomplished Implementation partners with advanced skill sets in PDM/PLM programming experience. Necessarily, development of customizable functions take time and effort, not to mention the associated cost.

Typically, customizable functions are to be kept under 10% of total functions. This ensures faster Go-Live, less effort in upgrades, when new versions of PDM/PLM are released, and lower over-all cost of ownership. This approach also reduces dependence on external consultants to maintain the PDM/PLM system once implementation is completed.

Checklist for PDM/ PLM Software Selection

S.no

Functional Criteria

Priority (Critical/Essential/Desirable)

1

Ease of Use

2

GUI Based Workflow Configurator

3

GUI Based Rights Management Tool

4

Configurable Integrated File Pre-Viewer

5

API Functionality

6

ERP Integrator / Connector

7

2D / 3D CAD/ MS Office Tools Integration

8

Project Management Tool Integrator

9

GUI based Administration Panel

10

Product Configuration Tool

11

BOM Management Tool

12

Batch Processing Tool for Automation of User functions

13

GUI Based Rights Management

14

Item Configuration Tool

15

File Management Functions

16

Template Driven Processes/ Documents

17

Search (Keywords and Container based)

18

Life Cycle Status Management

19

File/ Item Data Card Editor

20

File Type Configurator

21

Documentation for Use & API

22

Configurable User Interface

23

Print Management Tool

24

Audit Report Configuration Tool

25

Rule Based Tool for Numbering Schema

26

Data Back Up/ Replication Tool

27

Multi-Site Configurator

28

Integration with popular RDBMS

29

Email Notification Management Tool

30

3rd Party Viewer / Tool Integrator

31

Data Migration Tool

32

Scalability

Prioritization of Prioritization of the functional criteria in terms of Criticality, Essentiality and Desirability depends on their impact on Cost, Time and Quality of Product / Processes. Detailed activity for each functionality needs to be documented by the Company and should form the basis of engagement with Implementation partners. This is a necessity to avoid prolonged delays during implementation phase.

Successful implemeSuccessful implementations have always had the collaboration of IT and Engineering members working together as a critical task force team, with the willingness to change, in alignment with Management growth objectives.

About EGS India

Since 1993, EGS India has been providing Design Engineering Services and Software Solutions to Engineering Industries in India and Rest-of-the-World. Best-in-class practices and processes have been established for Customers worldwide by EGS implementation team. EGS India has been associated with Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation, USA and helping customers in deploying PDM solutions for varied Industrial Segments.